Dragons
The Dragon Clan of Gods were an ancient and highly advanced race of extra-dimensional aliens that ruled the 8th Universe called Shiva for much of history. Born from Celestials who manifested in material bodies, their true forms were of majestic metallic skinned beasts, but they more often took a humanoid form reminiscent of elves. In either form they possessed perfect bodies that operated on superhuman levels, unrivaled psychic abilities, and extremely potent Auras that gave them enough power to do whatever they wished. They created the pocket dimension of Ultima, and under the leadership of the wise Bahamut waged war against the Devils and their demon spawn to restore order to the Midplane. They ultimately succeeded at the cost of the lives of all of them except Adam, who completed their task and erected the dimensional barrier that closed off the Midplane from the Underplane. To help him in his task of overseeing Shiva, Adam created a new being from his own essence, the goddess Eve. With her, he sired a new generation of Gods and they ruled Shiva from Ultima in a golden age. However, over time his son Strife would grow jealous of his authority and he rose up and slew him. With his dying breath, Adam cursed Strife to share the same fate. Strife would attempt to avoid this fate by devouring the children he had with his sister Asura, but she managed to send her final child, a boy named Rao, to her mother who had gone into hiding. Eve raised Rao on Ultima, and he grew into a powerful warrior who managed to save his siblings from their prison inside their father and overthrow his father, breaking him and casting his body into the void. However, Rao’s wrath didn’t stop at Strife’s downfall and he turned his rage on the other Elder Dragons. As he and his siblings slaughtered their parents, they were cursed by Eve to lose control of the great power they were all so proud of. The curse caused the Dragons’ Auras to swell uncontrollably, twisting their bodies into hideous versions of themselves. Before they could be killed by the imbalance between their bodies and auras, Rao lead his siblings in sealing off 4/5ths of their power so that they could bring their energies under control. A side effect of the curse was that their power had increased to such a degree that even when limited to a fifth of their true strength, they were still far greater than their parents had been. In the aftermath, Rao declared himself King by virtue of his unmatchable power and took his most beautiful sister, Shiva as his wife and Queen. He divided Shiva between his remaining siblings, with the North and South Galaxies going to the brothers Dorn and Scourge, and the East and West going to the sisters Agni and Rudra. Rao and Shiva would oversee the 4 of them. From Ultima they began shaping Shiva in their own image, creating a plethora of new races to serve them and conquering those they did not create. In order to manage their empire, they created a powerful cult called the Holy Order which would ensure that the subject races paid their reverence to the Gods. This state of affairs carried on for eons until an event remembered as the Cataclysm. The circumstances are unclear, but the God Queen Shiva became infected by a mysterious power source and went on an unstoppable rampage destroying everything she came across. She was ultimately defeated by her son Chrono, who managed to absorb the power of the entire Dragon Clan, making him virtually omnipotent. Still unable to truly defeat her, he sacrificed his life to seal his mother inside a crystal prison. This prison became known as the Bloodstone, and became highly sought by the mortal races left behind since it conferred on whoever held it access to Shiva’s unimaginable power. In the modern age, the sole survivor of the Cataclysm is the God King Rao, who sits on a lonely throne on a now desolate Ultima. There is still a Holy Order devoted to his worship, but it wars with the All Union for complete control of Shiva. All across Shiva new kingdoms have been built on the shattered remains of the dragons’ once mighty empire. Scattered across Shiva are the ruins of their palaces and the echos of their mighty civilization. Despite their mercurial personalities, the order imposed by the Gods lead to a golden age of peace remembered fondly by most races in Shiva. While there were many who chafed at the omnipresent authority of the Holy Order, by and large the citizens of the various member states of the Gods’ Empire enjoyed happiness and safety. The Gods were revered throughout Shiva, and long after the Cataclysm which wiped them out they were invoked and prayed to. 'Notable Dragons' 'The First Generation: The Celestial Dragons' Also known as the Shivan Dragons of Light when they lived on Crown, the Celestial Dragons were the original incarnation of this Clan. The First Gods were descended Celestials from the Highplane. Charged by the Source with the task of bringing order to the Universe, they created bodies from the dust of the Midplane. Those that followed Bahamut into the Milky Way Galaxy followed his lead and took the form of massive metallic dragons. However, they could take whichever form they wished, and often wore the more humanoid form which would become recognizable as Elves. A great number of Celestials entered the Midplane in this way, spreading themselves throughout the Universe to fight the demons who were rampant. A great number of gods emerged into this galaxy, who were lead by the wisdom of Bahamut. All but one would lose their lives in the war against the demons, but in Adam, they would achieve their lasting victory and ensure the safety of the Midplane. Bahamut: Bahamut was the wisest and most powerful of the gods who emerged in the Milky Way, and the one the others looked to for guidance. In Heaven, he had been a Celestial rivaling Lucifer in his greatness, but unlike the Morning Star who was arrogant, Bahamut was humble. When the Source sought volunteers to restore order to the Midplane, Bahamut was among those who wanted to go. It is thought that he knew of all those descending, only he really stood a chance against the being that was now Satan. The body he crafted for himself was that of a gigantic Platinum Dragon, though he could change shape to a large elf which he vastly preferred. In this form, he was nearly 8 feet tall, massive of girth and heavily muscled. His head was completely bald and he had gentle eyes that glowed white. As a god, he exuded an aura of powerful calm, such that the volatile demons often could not stand to be in his presence. Bahamut had also mastered the Thunder Element which granted him control over electricity which when combined with his already overwhelming Aura made him virtually invincible. In the final battle, he alone was capable of standing up against Satan. The two seemed fairly even until Bahamut realized that Satan was drawing out the fight for his own amusement. Resigned to defeat Satan at all costs, he passed his Thunder Element to Adam so that he could complete the mission, and engaged the Devil King one last time. In a desperate gambit, he grabbed Satan and flew into the icy river Cocytus, killing himself and trapping Satan in the ice hopefully forever. Before dying he passed knowledge of how to erect the barrier between the planes to Adam, who used it to seal the demons into Hell. Adam: Adam was among the gods to emerge into the Milky Way, and was regarded as the cleverest and a remarkably skilled warrior. Upon descending, he took the form of a massive gold dragon, but more often took the shape of a muscular elf with long black hair and glowing white eyes. Bahamut often relied on his sharp mind, and Adam served as his lieutenant in the battles against the demons. Over time, Adam became the lover of the Goddess Lilith, though the relationship between the two was often turbulent. However, Lilith was seduced by the demons’ hedonistic lifestyle and she abandoned Adam. She seduced and killed another god named Enki, and during the Gods final attack on the demons in hell, Adam tracked her down to exact revenge. Even with her demonic powers, Adam emerged victorious over Lilith, but even at the end he pitied her and decided to spare her. After finding Bahamut in his battle with Satan, he was infused by the Thunder Element by Bahamut who then sacriced his life to neutralize the Devil King. Using the knowledge passed to him by Bahamut, Adam manipulated the mystic forces tying the universe together and he strengthened the borders between the Planes. As the demons had bodies made from Hellfire, they were suddenly unable to exist in the Midplane and they vanished from it. As punishment for her betrayal, Adam trapped Lilith along with them. The barrier was powerful and completely prevented demons of any notable power from being able to cross over. However, weaker demons and spirits could still exist in the Midplane for a short while. Adam was now sole superpower in Shiva, but he quickly grew lonely. He created a new female partner for himself out of his own essence. He called this new god Eve and was awestruck by her beauty. He sired children with her, and with his family attempted to bring order to Shiva. However, one of his sons called Strife became jealous of Adam’s authority and the love of his mother. Strife rose up and murdered Adam, declaring himself God King and cowing his siblings. The Midplane’s Guardian Celestial Loki was close friends with Adam when he was still an Celestial and still met with him even after he took material form. When Adam was killed by his son, Loki lamented his loss and took Adam’s name in his honor. Lilith: '''Lilith was originally an Celestial in Heaven who entered the Milky Way Galaxy under the leadership of Bahamut. She was a silver Dragon and among the most powerful of his party. Over time, she became the lover of Adam. The two had a passionate relationship, but with that passionate love also came passionate anger. Following one of their blowups, Lilith went off on her own and was captured by the Devil Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles tortured and abused her, eventually killing her and resurrecting her with demonic blood rites. This blood corrupted her, giving her demonic powers of her own. She discovered that by taking in demonic blood she’d adopted many of their powers, eventually gaining the ability to enthrall people whom she’d bitten. Among her acts at this time was to infect an entire race called the Vampires, who took on her bloodsucking attributes and worshipped her. She betrayed the other Dragons, seducing and killing Enki. For her betrayal, Adam confronted her in the final battle. Despite her new demonic powers, Adam defeated her, but found that because of his lingering love for her he felt pity and spared her. After Bahamut nuetralized Satan, Adam put up the barriers between the Planes and Lilith was trapped in Hell with the demons. Lilith raged against the barrier, unable to break through it. She was able to still contact her Vampire flock. In Hell, she built up an army of thralls, eventually managing to bite powerful Old Ones like Beelzebub, Sin, and finally Abaddon. In doing so she became one of the most powerful rulers in the Underplane. There she stumbled upon the frozen Satan in the bottom of Hell, and fell in love with him. Through her connection to her Vampire brood, she discovered that Satan’s Celestial essence still existed and had bonded with the goddess Shiva, who had then been trapped inside the Bloodstone. The Bloodstone could grant any wish or ignore the laws of reality. She concocted a scheme to use its power to release Satan from his prison, and together they’d conquer the Universe. '''Marduk: Most headstrong and reactionary of the First Gods, the brass dragon Marduk was extremely aggressive and loved to fight. He was a rival of the devil Amon, with the two often contesting without a clear winner. Duty-bound and honorable to a fault, Marduk was committed to the Gods mission to bring order and was the greatest and most devout champion of that ideal. He could seem arrogant and haughty, with an inflated sense of self, a tendency that can put them at odds with those they meet, but at the same time was a loyal friend. During the final battle in Hell, Marduk encountered Satan with Bahamut and was ultimately killed. Ishtar: Ishtar was known for her joking personality and light hearted demeanor. Her true form was that of a copper dragon. She participated in many of the Dragon Gods victories over the Demon Lords, and was respected for her fierce fighting ability. Unfortunately for her she ran into Satan and mistaking him for an ordinary demon engaged him in battle. He toyed with her for a while, but quickly became bored and killed her. Enki: A brass dragon, Enki was the weakest of the Celestial Dragons but still very powerful. He secretly loved Lilith, and though Adam was his closest friend, he resented him for having Lilith’s affections. When Lilith vanished and was presumed dead, he took it especially hard. Lilith however returned, corrupted by the demons. Long aware of Enki’s affections for her, she lured him into a trap and violently killed him. 'The Second Generation: The Elder Dragons' The second generation of gods was far and away the longest reigning. The ruled Shiva for untold eons, keeping it in a state of chaos and doing whatever they wanted. They were known as Elder Gods by those who came to worship their children, and their exact number is unknown. Some sources list less than 10, others list dozens and others said there were hundreds. Of them the only ones known are the King and Queen, Strife and Asura, and they are only notable for siring the Holy Dragons. Though she birthed the Gods of this generation, many consider Eve an Elder God, since she did not start life as a Celestial and was the first God born from Adam (though in a manner markedly different than the others). Eve: Eve was the third god to rule Shiva, and the first that didn’t start as an Celestial. She was created by Adam directly from his own body in a manner similar to Satan's creation of Sin. She was extremely beautiful, and her beauty not only obsessed Adam but also herself. After she was born, she gazed at her reflection in a pool of water, transfixed by her image. Even after Adam called out to her, she returned to her image. By her, Adam fathered a second generation of gods with whom he decided to bring order to Shiva. However, one of their sons called Strife was jealous of Adam's authority and he killed him. This act horrified Eve, and she fled from her children for fear that Strife would kill her as he killed Adam. She watched from her hiding place as Strife took his place and became a tyrant. As he took his sister Asura as his wife and begat a new generation of gods, he feared they would kill him as he killed his own father. He devoured his children as they were born, and the terrified Asura begged her mother for help. Upon the birth of her 6th and final son Rao, Eve hid the child and raised him to adulthood. She passed the Thunder Element to Rao and trained him in the use of his powers and helped him recover his siblings from his father’s stomach. What she did not expect was that her sweet grandson would be every bit the monster his father was. Rao not only killed Strife, but murdered all the other Elder Gods and even turned his fury on his beloved grandmother. With her dying breath, Eve used the hatred of the Elder Gods and cursed her grandchildren to lose control of their power. Strife: Strife was the strongest son of Adam and Eve. His dragon form was that of a massive beast with onyx skin. Adam had intended for his family to help him bring order to Shiva, but Strife had different ideas. He murdered Adam and declared himself ruler of Shiva. Eve despaired upon seeing her son become a tyrant and fled from him as she thought she was no longer safe around her children. His sister Asura became his wife and with his siblings the Elder Gods reveled in chaos. When he began having children with Asura, he feared that they would overthrow him as he overthrew his own father. In order to prevent this, he swallowed them all at birth. This appalled even Asura, who up till now had been a willing partner in Strife’s maniacal reign. In desperation she turned to her mother Eve to save her 6th and final child, Rao. In his place she gave strife a stone which he swallowed. Rao was raised and trained by his grandmother in the use of his incredible powers, which far and away dwarfed any god before or since. When he was ready, Eve and Asura helped him free his siblings from Strife’s belly. In his rage Strife attempted to turn on Asura, but he was stopped and easily slain by Rao. Asura: Asura was one of the daughters of Adam and Eve. When Strife rose up and killed their father, she excitedly encouraged him. Together the two subjugated their siblings and began a chaotic rule in Shiva. They reveled in their power, keeping no plan other than the pursuit of their own amusement. This maintained for untold eons until Asura began giving Strife children. Fearing they would kill him as he killed his own father, he devoured each one upon their birth. While she had previously gone along with all of Strife’s schemes, she discovered she could not condone his killing of his own children. She sought out help from her mother Eve, who was herself hiding from Strife out of fear of what he did to Adam. She gave her 6th and final child, Rao to her to raise, tricking Strife into eating a stone. She stayed with Strife while Eve raised Rao to maturity. She was present when Rao revealed himself to Strife during the latter's Tournament of the Gods. Rao saved her from the vengeful Strife, and handily defeated him forcing him to disgorge Rao's 5 older siblings. Together with them Rao and his siblings waged war against Strife and all who were loyal to him. With contemptuous ease Rao slew his own father as Strife attempted to kill Asura for her treachery. While initially sorrowful at the hand she had in the fate of her brother and husband, she was soon horrified as Rao turned his rage on her and Eve. Using his incredible power, Rao killed her. 'The Third Generation: The Holy Dragons' The Holy Dragons were the third and greatest generation of Dragon Gods. Each spawned from the union of the two most powerful Elder Dragons, Strife and Asura, they were all extremely powerful. In the battle to overthrow their parents, they were cursed by their grandmother Eve to lose control of their power. She hit them with a secret technique called Overblow, which caused their Auras to swell with power and threatened to destroy their bodies. However, Rao managed to save them at the last minute by sealing 4/5ths of their power away. A side effect of the technique was that it so drastically increased their Aura output, that even in this sealed state they were on each many times stronger than the average God. Rao standing head and shoulders above the others. The Dragon Gods were notable for being the ones who brought order to Shiva. They created many races in their image, including elves, ogres, cherubs, fairies, etc. The Holy Dragons were also notable in their mastery of elemental powers which greatly increased their strength and abilities. Rao: 'The most powerful of the Holy Dragons and self proclaimed King of the Gods, Rao's element is Lightning. He lead the war against the Elder Dragons and inspired his siblings to wipe them out. It was also him who figured out how to overcome their grandmother’s Curse by sealing away most of their power. Rao’s most often assumed form was of a small, slight elf with finely chiseled features and long black hair stretch to the back of his knees, but he was also capable of transforming into a gigantic dragon with metallic gold skin. Like the other Gods his eyes glowed with white light regardless of what form he assumed. This small form belied his incredible power, though any in his presence were instantly humbled by his Aura. Rao’s Holy Power was far in excess of his siblings. In addition to his power output being unrivaled by any of the Midplane until the appearance of the first Oversaran (Satan and the Old Ones were stronger than Rao but predated his birth) his other powers operated on an order far above his siblings. For instance while any of them could only use it to be aware of what was going on in their quarter of Shiva, from Ultima Rao was omniscient of the thoughts and actions of the entire Galaxy and could teleport himself wherever he wished. From Ultima he was able to project himself through his statue and make it and the statues of the other gods attack the Magnificent 7. Despite this, when Shiva went mad with power, he attempted to subjugate her but was swiftly defeated. As God King, Rao often displayed a very calm, civilized and refined demeanor, using very polite, eloquent language. Despite these traits, he was quite cold-hearted, almost to the point of being machine-like in nature. He tended to view most problems and situations in an intellectual manner, like an academic or a professor, rather than as a manner of life or death, something which lead him to underestimate his foes, resulting in his eventual downfall. A narcissist, he tended to be quite confident both in his abilities and his mind and reacted violently to criticism. At his core, Rao relished death and destruction, taking psychopathic joy in exacting genocidal judgment on those who’d offended him. He was notable for being exceedingly sadistic, often trying to make his enemies suffer before he killed them. Rao had an ego to match his power, as well as a sardonic wit. Rao took full pride in his abilities, and often took the opportunity to demonstrate them (for example, not using limbs in some fights, killing enemies slowly, and so on). 'Shiva: Queen of the Gods, she was Rao’s most beautiful sister and closest to him in terms of power. During her training on Ultima after being freed, Shiva mastered the element of Light. Rao elevated her to a status above the rest of their siblings and along with him she oversaw the others as they controlled their quarters of Shiva. In the Heroic Age before she went mad and became the Destroyer of Worlds, Shiva was known as a kind and wise goddess, who would often calm down the violent Rao and save Shiva from his wrath. In her elf form she was the picture of beauty, tall with long black hair, a voluptuous figure and massive breasts. She had a dislike for her sister Agni, since she often encouraged Rao’s more savage tendencies and carried on numerous affairs with him. While many of the others considered Shiva to be their inferior in terms of power, none were ever able to defeat her. She used this often to punish Agni whenever it was thought she had been with Rao. Dorn: Dorn was the burly Northern God whose element was Water. He was the most physically imposing of his siblings in his Sealed Form and believed himself to be the most powerful apart from Rao. Of the 4 who directional gods, he was easily the strongest and considered himself the protector of his siblings. He was especially close with his sister Rudra. When Shiva went mad he attempted to fight her to protect the others, but the fight was taken from him by Rao. After seeing Rao defeated so easily by their sister, he quickly agreed to Chrono’s plan to pool their essences and was instrumental in convincing the other gods to do so. Scourge: Firstborn son of Strife and Asura, the melancholic Scourge was the dark Southern God who mastered the element of Stone. Scourge was known for his dour personality and gaunt appearance. He was reportedly bitter against his brother for giving him the Southern Galaxy, and schemed against him many times. Scourge was extremely greedy and jealous of what he regarded as the more interesting realms ruled by his siblings. He was almost exiled from Ultima when he kidnapped his niece Dawn, the daughter of Rudra, and took her as his wife, but he managed to worm his way back into Rao’s good graces. Agni: The hot tempered Eastern God, Agni used the element of Fire. She was responsible for the creation of the Ogres. Of the siblings, Agni was closest in temperament to her brother Rao and the two got along very well. They regularly engaged in affairs, which often earned Agni the enmity of her sister Shiva. One of these affairs resulted in the volatile god Rend, who would become known as the God of War. Rudra: Rudra was the lackadaisical Western God, Rudra trained in the use of Air Element. She appeared to the others to be excessively absent minded and something of an air head, but regularly demonstrated a more thorough understanding of the goings-on in her realm than any of her siblings. Despite her light and airy personality, Rudra was capable of extraordinary anger. When Scourge kidnapped her daughter and made her his bride her anger almost shook Ultima apart. 'The Fourth Generation: The Young Dragons' From these siblings came a fourth generation of gods, some of whom were allowed to rule alongside their parents on Ultima. Since the 4 realms of Shiva were already under control of the Holy Dragons, their children were allowed to go back and forth across the realms following their interests. Chrono: First born son of Rao and Shiva, Chrono was the self styled God of Justice. Chrono was the most powerful of the 4th Generation Dragons being believed to rival his uncle Dorn in power. He was responsible for the creation of a race of green skinned cherubs called High Lords of Justice who would travel Shiva using their empathic powers to bring peace. Chrono’s greatest achievement was in saving the universe from Shiva after she had gone mad with power. He convinced the other gods to join their life forces together so they could be a power great enough to rival his mother. All agreed but Rao, and Chrono became a being of bright blue light to fight Shiva. He managed to capture her in a prison crystal strengthened by his own life force. With his dying breath he charged his followers, the High Lords to hold Shiva together and not let it fall into anarchy. Taking his orders to heart, the High Lords took his body, charged with the infinite power of the collected gods and made a battery of it. They connected themselves to this and became called the High Lords, creating the SENTINEL Order so that they could fulfill the wishes of their fallen god. Anya: Anya was the daughter of Rao and an unknown goddess. She was a wise goddess and frequent companion of her brother and lover, Chrono. She was committed to his mission to bring Justice to Shiva and often worked alongside him. Her manners were dignified and precise. Though not tall, she instantly became the focus of attention, even in a crowd of gods. She expected frailty and stupidity in mortals, but could be annoyed with gods behaving in a less than thoughtful manner, Rend in particular. And while he was her equal in military strategy, she always considered other aspects, besides the martial ones, and thus usually prevailed in the long run. The other Gods respected her, and she was fiercely loyal to them. She adhered to a paladin code of honor at all times. Aurora:''' A daughter of Rao and Shiva who was regarded as so beautiful she was able to make any who looked upon her fall madly in love with her. Fearing desire for her would spark a war between the gods, Rao organized a contest which the god Forge managed to fix so that he would win. Despite being bound to be his wife, Aurora found her husband uninteresting and cheated on him repeatedly with Rend, who excited her. Aurora was noted for being vain, ill-tempered, and easily offended, but these faults were often overlooked in light of her stunning beauty. This ability to be forgiven for any transgression caused her to become mischievous, and it was during one such prank that she inadvertently started the Eden War when she used her powers to make the wife of the brother of the Emperor of Nod fall in love with a Prince from the rival kingdom of Eden and run off with him. '''Rend: The God of War, Rend was the product of an affair between Rao and Agni. He was attracted wherever aggression was escalating and delighted in igniting full scale war. Because his brother Chrono often worked to crush evil and bring peace and order, the two were often at odds with eachother. Rend’s power was doubled by a Sword carved from the bone of a Leviathan. Dawn: A daughter of the Western God Rudra and Rao, Dawn was known for her pleasant demeanor and was universally adored. She was able to see the good in anything, and willingly married her dark uncle, Scourge after he kidnapped her. Forge: The smartest of the younger gods, Forge was a son of Rao and Shiva who was regarded as excessively unpleasant by the other gods. Tired of their derision, he managed to trick his sister Aurora, the most beautiful of all the goddesses into marrying him. Despite her continual infidelity to him, Forge never seemed to show any sign of concern. He seemed more interested in having her to show off to the other gods than doing anything with her himself. Clown: Son of Rao and Rudra, Clown was known as the Trickster God or the Merry God. Of all the gods, Clown was a pursuer of pleasure and amusement. Wherever he went he was the cause of great and rowdy celebration. Members of his cult emulated his behavior and partook of great drink and orgiastic celebration. Clown also possessed a great sense of humor, and he loved engaging in pranks on his fellow gods. He frustrated many of the other Gods, and it was only by virtue of the love of his father that he escaped punishment as often as he did. Clown was responsible for the creation of the race of Fairies, to whom he passed on his pleasure seeking lifestyle and humorous view of the Universe. Bolt: Son of Rao and an unknown goddess, Bolt alone of all his children possessed Rao's control of space and could will himself wherever he wished in Shiva. With his power to will himself to any point he was often used by the gods as a messenger to mortals. Kali: Daughter of Agni and an unknown god, Kali shared in her mother's temperament and was fiery and tempestuous. Easily offended, she often wreaked horrible vengeance on mortals for seemingly inane reasons. To mortals she came to represent senseless death and destruction. She idolized her older brother Rend and was a frequent lover of his. Caster: A daughter of Rao and an unknown goddess, Caster was singular among the Dragon Clan for her interest in magic. Because dragon gods were generally interested in their own inherent power, her interest in manipulating the energies of nature were somewhat baffling to the others. She mastered the disciplines beyond even what Bahamut was capable of, and eventually taught these arts to mortals. These mortals went on to found the Society of High Sorcery, which was treated with suspicion by the Holy Order though they were protected from outright persecution from it by their Goddess. Cardea: Cardea is a daughter of Rao and Shiva who was known for her childlike innocence. Because of her naivety, she was carefully protected by the other gods. She was given as a wife to her half brother Gaia as a reward for his earning a place on Ultima, and by all accounts he adored her. However, their relationship was strained by Gaia's frequent exiles and de-powerings. Gaia: Son of Rao by an elven princess, the Half-God Gaia nevertheless possessed power on an order superior to many of the pure Gods. He grew quickly into one of the more notable heroes of that Age, though he was known as much for his brutish behavior and arrogance as he was his incredible power. While Rao had a tendency to dote on Gaia, he also ran out of patience with him several times and would seal Gaia’s powers or exile him from Ultima many times throughout the ages. It was during one of these exiles that the Cataclysm happened, and being depowered at the time he was not among the Gods who pooled their power into Chrono. When Rao re-emerged into Shiva he rescued Gaia and took him as his right hand man.